Facebook Introduces ‘Safety Check’ Feature for Natural Disasters

On Thursday, Facebook announced a new safety check feature that allows users to notify friends and family, check on loved ones during natural disasters. The feature will be available globally on Android, iOS, feature phones and desktop.

When users are in an affected area after activating this tool, then they simply get a notification asking if they’re safe. Facebook will check location from cities listed in the profile, the last location users have shared or the city where they are using the Internet. If users are safe, then they can select ‘i am safe’ and a notification and News Feed story will be generated with your update and friends can also mark you as safe. Also Read: Facebook throws in towel on Facebook Messenger for windows

On Wednesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced the feature in Japan, the country that is still recovering from 2011 earthquake and tsunami.